What is the working principle of sunflower oil solvent extraction equipment? Is it safe?

Sunflower oil solvent extraction is one of the conventional methods to produce sunflower oil. Regarding safety issues, the sunflower oil solvent extraction equipment used for sunflower oil is safe under normal operation and reasonable usage. However, attention should still be given to solvent selection, equipment quality, operator experience, and expertise. If you lack relevant experience, it is recommended to seek guidance or training from professionals.

Sunflower oil solvent extraction is based on the chemical extraction principle. It uses the mutual solubility of solvent and oil to extract the oil in the oil plant into the solvent by spraying and infiltrating the solvent and mixed oil for a long time, and then uses the difference between the boiling point of solvent and oil to separate the solvent and oil by vacuum distillation, where the solvent is condensed and recycled; the solvent containing meal is thoroughly separated from the meal through steps such as pre evaporation, evaporation, drying and cooling. The solvent is recycled and reused, and the meal enters the crushing and packaging workshop.

Sunflower oil solvent extraction equipment

Firstly, there is the leaching section: the pre-treated or pressed cake is put into the extractor by the conveying equipment, fully in contact with organic solvents, and soaked for a period of time. The oil is replaced from the cake using the principle of organic solvents dissolving with oil. The wet meal and mixed oil obtained after replacement are sent to other systems in the leaching workshop for further processing.

Next is the evaporation and stripping of mixed oil: the oil obtained from the extractor is a mixture of crude oil and solvent, with a concentration generally of 10% -40%. In order to obtain the crude oil, we need to treat the mixed oil and separate the solvent from the sunflower oil.

Due to the different boiling points between edible oil and solvents, the solvent in the mixed oil is evaporated using an evaporator and a stripper, combined with high-temperature steam, to separate it from the sunflower oil.

The third is wet meal desolvation: The cake obtained from the leaching system is often referred to as wet meal, which generally contains 20% -40% solvent and needs to be processed through the wet meal desolvation process. The main purpose is to separate the organic solvents in the meal, recover and reuse this solvent, and achieve the goal of reducing production costs. Wet meal desolvation is mainly divided into three stages:1. Pre dissolution: The process of taking certain measures to reduce the content of a wet meal. The purpose is to reduce the amount of steam consumed during the steam desorption process, reduce energy consumption, and at the same time reduce the moisture condensed in the meal after steam desorption.2. Direct steam desorption: By using direct steam to pass through the material layer, the two come into contact and cause the meal to boil and evaporate, effectively removing residual solvents from the meal.3. Baking: The process of drying and removing water. Mainly used to remove the increased moisture and original moisture content during the dehydration of the meal by water vapor condensation. The roasted meal is heated by indirect steam.

The final step is solvent recovery: during the leaching process, especially in the mixed oil evaporation stripping and wet meal desolvation sections, a large amount of solvent becomes vapor gas.

The solvent recovery system is to recover the solvent from the leaching process, achieving the purpose of recycling and production safety, while ensuring that the wastewater and exhaust gas meet emission standards. The main sections include condensation, water separation, cooking, solvent turnover, and tail gas treatment.

Sunflower oil solvent extraction is a very mature sunflower oil processing technology. It has the characteristics of low loss, low processing cost, low energy consumption, and high oil yield. Bringing continuous returns to investors.

Sunflower oil solvent extraction equipment

Compared to the pressing process for producing sunflower oil, using flammable and explosive chemical solvents for sunflower oil processing poses certain risks. But our engineers can provide the most suitable production and installation suggestions based on actual on-site needs. At the same time, efficient technical design, strict requirement of equipment quality by the factory, and improved operational processes. This eliminates the need for users to worry too much about production safety.

When compared with the pressing process, there are certain risks in using flammable and explosive chemical solvents to process sunflower oil. Our engineers can provide the most suitable production and installation suggestions according to the actual needs of the site to ensure safety. In order to eliminate users' excessive worries about production security, we have taken the following preventive measures:

Technical design: The engineer team conducts detailed technical design, considering the safety issues in the process of sunflower oil processing to ensure the safety of equipment operation.

Equipment requirements: Strictly require the quality of equipment used in the production workshop, and only select reliable suppliers to provide equipment that meets safety standards and has necessary safety features such as fire resistance and explosion resistance.

Operation process: formulate detailed operation process, including equipment start-up, operation, shutdown and emergency handling, etc. Employees are trained to understand the correct operating procedures and emergency measures to ensure the safety of the production process.

Fire and explosion-proof measures: set up appropriate fire and explosion-proof facilities in the production workshop, such as fire-fighting equipment, explosion-proof equipment, etc., to provide safety guarantee in emergency situations.

Through the combined application of the above measures, we can minimize the risks caused by the use of flammable and explosive solvents to process sunflower oil, and ensure that the production process in the workshop is safe and reliable. If you want to learn more about sunflower oil solvent extraction equipment, please feel free to contact us at any time.